Anyone been in a situation like this? Missing person

[imuseless]

My son (early 20s, ASD) has been missing since May 1st in a different Country. UK police are involved and they got the police in the other Country involved and also interpol. Police there have been checking hospitals, police stations, homeless shelters, john does.. Police here in the UK have been checking ferries, flights etc, trying to see if he has re entered the UK or gone on to another Country etc.

His phone has been off since May 2nd, Zero posts on social media, no reply to any messages, voice mails or anything else, He didn't contact me to wish me a happy birthday a few weeks ago which is when I knew for sure something was wrong, Not even sure if his phone is off, dead, stolen or if he's taken his sim card out. Nobody in our family and none of his friends have seen or heard from him in any way what so ever. Because of the ASD he is the type of person that messages me constantly throughout the day (and tells me absolutely everything if I want to know or not!), All day every day 'Mum I'm awake now, I'm going to do such a thing now' etc so I know something bad has happened. There is no way he would ever go this long without contacting someone, He wouldn't even go one hour.

I'm preparing to fly out, I'm not sure if that is even a good idea or if I should stay here in case he makes it home. Not even sure where in the other Country he is, would only be guessing on my part. We have no connection to the other Country at all, No family there, no friends, never been before etc.

Nobody even knew he had left, nobody knew he was going in the first place. First I knew he had left the Country was the one post he made saying he had arrived with a selfie then nothing at all since.

He is ASD and would be classed as very vunerable and very easily led, If you were to tell him there is a tunnel at the end of your garden that takes you to Spain he would believe you and ask if he could go to Spain with you.. All the things that would be obvious to me like going into a police station, a hospital, a library, try to find an internet cafe to ask for help etc he wouldn't think to do..

Not slept for days, not eaten for days, can't think straight, my mind keeps wandering to all sorts of bad things, I can't think of a single good reason he wouldn't have been in contact in some way by now, I feel absolutely useless, unsettled and have a constant horrible feeling in my stomach that won't go away, I'm literally waiting for my phone to ring with some news, good or bad. I have no idea what to do. Anyone else have experience with a missing person? Did it turn out ok?

Not sure if I'm looking for advice or if I just need to get this all down out of my head.

There are many, many old market squares in Poland. All the main tourist cities have them, Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, Warsaw, Gdasnk…

I just thought that the one in Poznan is actually called ‘old market square’ which OP mentioned. Whereas the market squares in the other areas have different names

I can't begin to imagine how worried you must be OP. I hope the police and Interpol have more details on where he flew to and account activity etc soon.

If you type it in for Krakow for example it says ‘main market square’. But the one in Poznan comes up as ‘old market square’. Just a thought incase there’s anything in the background of the photo that can be identified

Has he ever been known to Adult Services OP?

Given his vulnerability, the way his home was left and him now going off radar I'd expect the police to consider the possibility of some kind of exploitation. Adult Services can trigger a multi-agency response by filling out an NRM (or DtN given he's not around to consent to the NRM) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-trafficking-victims-referral-and-assessment-forms/guidance-on-the-national-referral-mechanism-for-potential-adult-victims-of-modern-slavery-england-and-wales#Section-8

Is there any buildings in the background of the selfie OP?

I’d also be speaking to his neighbour. Did he tell them he was going to go away and where? How did they know the pets had been left alone and for how long?

Could you try this? I’ve never used it before and don’t know if it works but it says it can trace worldwide.

https://www.locatenum.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3L_v7fWghgMV3ItQBh3MLg1oEAAYBCAAEgJfB_D_BwE

Is he a gamer OP?

Might be a long shot but could he have built up a relationship with someone on a gaming platform and gone to meet them there? I know you can play with other gamers from around the world on certain ones.

Sorry, just saw your other post that he doesn’t have a PC

I really hope you hear something soon.

I’m so sorry you are going through this and hope you hear from him very soon. I’d head out there, to feel like you’re doing something.

Can you access his emails and social media chats, it might give you a clue into who he might be meeting or why he just took off?

Best of luck. Big prayers for your son.

Media attention and broadcast in Poland might alert someone who has seen him.
Do you have access to his travel mode/company/ticket which would list a place of arrival?
The missing person's police will be doing their best and it is fortunate that the weather is not freezing. Your son will survive the Summer temperature.

Does your son have a phone app. tracable to one of his friends?

If he has Snapchat you can sometimes see a friends location on the map but that’s only if they’ve got it enabled and if they’ve been on the app in the last 24hrs.

So sorry you're going through this, OP. I do hope you get some positive news soon.

If location settings are ON on the phone then you can use the Family Link app to find an android users location

Afternoon, everyone. The OP seems to have left and it doesn't look like she'll be returning, so we're afraid there won't be an update. We're going to close the thread to new posts now but leave what's already here standing, in case she wants to read some of the responses and suggestions again. Thanks to everyone who offered ideas and support.